First Wind Celebrates the Five-Year Anniversary of Commercial
Operations for Kaheawa Wind Power

Since 2006, Maui’s largest wind project has delivered clean energy
and economic benefits to the community and is now poised to nearly
double its generating capacity

First Wind commemorates the five-year anniversary of successful commercial operations of the 30 MW Maui-based Kaheawa Wind Power I (KWP I) project. KWP I has generated nearly 563 kWh of clean electricity since it went online on June 22, 2006 – enough to power more than 11,000 homes each year. Photo Credit: First Wind.

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First Wind commemorates the five-year anniversary of successful commercial operations of the 30 MW Maui-based Kaheawa Wind Power I (KWP I) project. KWP I has generated nearly 563 kWh of clean electricity since it went online on June 22, 2006 – enough to power more than 11,000 homes each year. Photo Credit: First Wind.

KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First
Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, and its partner
Makani Nui Associates, today commemorated the five-year anniversary of
successful commercial operations of their 30 MW Maui-based Kaheawa Wind
Power I (KWP I) project. As Maui’s first utility-scale wind project, KWP
I has generated nearly 563 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean
electricity since it went online on June 22, 2006 – the equivalent
amount of energy from a traditional fossil fuel facility would have
required over 902,604 barrels of oil. The project is also notable for
its first-in-industry Habitat Conservation Plan, ensuring the protection
of bird, bat and plant species that might have been affected during
construction and operations.

During a tour for representatives from the private, public and nonprofit
sectors, who are attending the Hawaii State Association of Counties
Conference this week on Maui, First Wind held a brief “birthday”
ceremony, complete with birthday cake. Company officials conducted tours
of KWP I’s existing operations as well as the 21 MW KWP II project,
which is under construction on an adjacent site.

KWP I powers approximately 11,000 homes on Maui a year – about 9 percent
of the island’s energy.

“As our first project to achieve commercial operations, KWP I has always
been special, serving as not just a model for other First Wind projects,
but for the industry as a whole,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind.
“During its five years of commercial operations and during the years of
development beforehand, we have been fortunate to have incredible
support from the State of Hawaii and the Maui community. Due in large
part to the success of the project and the support we have received, we
are pleased that we are now expanding the project to further support
both Maui’s and the state’s renewable energy goals.”

First Wind is currently constructing a second project, Kaheawa Wind
Power II (KWP II), a 21 MW project adjacent to KWP I. Earlier this year,
the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved a power purchase
agreement between KWP II and Maui Electric Company to sell as-available
renewable energy to Maui Electric at pre-determined prices over a
20-year term. KWP II will further advance the Hawaii Clean Energy
Initiative, which aims to have 70 percent of Hawaii’s energy come from
native, renewable sources by 2030.

Once KWP II is complete, the combined projects will have a capacity of
51 MW with the potential to produce enough energy for the equivalent of
20,000 Maui homes annually. KWP II will also include a battery energy
storage system to assist in meeting performance standards and smoothing
fluctuations in wind energy output, similar to the system installed at
First Wind’s Kahuku Wind project on Oahu. Both projects will also
operate under similar Habitat Conservation Plans.

Below is a summary of some of the notable milestones achieved during KWP
I’s five years of successful commercial operations:

Operation Highlights

KWP I has generated more than 562,892,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of
clean electricity.

Based on data recently published by the U.S. EPA’s Emissions and
Generation Resource Integrated Database (E-GRID), generating an
equivalent amount of electric energy from a traditional fossil fuel
burning facility would have required over 902,604 barrels of oil. The
Maui Electric Company (MECO) imports more than 1.6 million barrels of
petroleum-based fuels every year.

The renewable power generated has been supplying clean, renewable
electricity to more than 11,000 Maui homes each year.

Environmental Benefits

During a five-year period, KWP I helped to avoid the release of over
456,156 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 5,879 tons of nitrogen oxide
(NOx) and 2,841 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.

The amount of CO2 avoided is equivalent to the emissions of nearly
76,102 passenger vehicles.

Economic Benefits

First Wind has utilized Hawaii-based contractors and suppliers
throughout development, construction and continuing operations at KWP
I and KWP II.

Hawaii residents contributed another 12,000 man-hours at KWP I through
sub-contracting and local hiring.

Presently, First Wind continuously employs a Maui-based team of six
operators, environmental scientists and support staff at KWP I.

Situated on state lands, KWP I has generated approximately $750,000 in
lease revenue for the State (DLNR).

The predictable operating costs of KWP I enable fixed pricing for
electricity, insulating a portion of Maui’s electricity supply from
fluctuating market prices of oil.

Hawaii and Community Highlights

KWP I implemented the first Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) ever for a
utility-scale wind project. The plan was developed as recommended in
the project’s Environmental Impact Statement to ensure a net
conservation benefit for three listed bird species and one bat species
that might be affected by the project.

As part of KWP II, First Wind has expanded the HCP to provide
additional conservation benefits for the same four species, and
extended the period of the plan by an additional five years. Under the
HCP, KWP I is contributing funding to support critical research needs
for Hawaiian Hoary bats and propagation of young Nene for future
release. First Wind is also conducting extensive studies that will
lead to the protection of remote seabird nesting areas in interior
Maui.

KWP I continues to restore native plant communities at the project
site that were displaced during construction. As part of the
restoration project, KWP I contracted with Ho‘olawa Farms and Native
Nursery and Maui Cultural Lands to propagate over 25,000 native plant
specimens including a‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa), ‘ohi‘a (Metrosideros
polymorpha), ko‘oko‘olau (Bidens micrantha), ‘akia (Wikstroemia
oahuensis), and pili grass (Heteropogon contortus) mostly
from seeds collected by volunteers during the development and
construction of the wind project.

About First Wind

First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on
the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of
utility-scale wind projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First
Wind has wind projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with
the capacity to generate up to 635 megawatts of power and projects under
construction with the capacity to generate up to an additional 121
megawatts. For more information on First Wind, please visit www.firstwind.com
or follow us on Twitter @FirstWind.

First Wind Hawaii is a partnership between First Wind and Makani Nui
Associates, a Hawai‘i-based company in Pukalani, HI. The partnership
developed, constructed, financed, owns and operates Kaheawa Wind Power
I, Hawai‘i’s largest utility-scale wind farm on the western slopes of
Maui.